


Yu-Gi-Oh! JOYS

by BrandyBeavers



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 09:53:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26849986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrandyBeavers/pseuds/BrandyBeavers
Summary: Katrina Joyce moves to the city after being expelled from Duel Academy. She meets Yui Mutsu and gets involved in her quest to track down rare cards.





	Yu-Gi-Oh! JOYS

A girl stands on a crowded train. The technology is honestly quite amazing. Nobody really thinks about it, of course. It's a part of everyday life for people in the city. But the ability to stand stationary inside of a metal tube that travels at breakneck speeds? How is that possible? Most people don't think about these things, but they're constantly on the mind of one passenger, Katrina Joyce. Katrina is the dream for entitled men looking for that goth gf. Perhaps a few physical features aren't to their exact specifications, but her introverted and submissive nature would more than make up for that. After all, if a person thinks and does not speak or act, then does that really matter? These kinds of thoughts plague her mind as well. A cynicism that's been nurtured by experiences.

These thoughts are finally broken when the train stops. Katrina looks up. Freeham West Station. She grips her suitcase, lest one of these city folk try and snatch it, and adjust her glasses. She follows the crowd to the station, not entirely sure where to go. Someone should be waiting for her, but where? Who? She hadn't seen her Aunt Missy in so long that she doesn't even know if they'll recognize each other and who knows if she would show up herself or call a taxi.

Her question is answered before her stereotype informed thoughts can turn for too long. A woman with brown hair, same as hers—at least before she died it black—stands at the station with a sign reading "Katrina." Holding a sign like that seems like more of an airport thing to her, but what did she know? Still, nobody else is doing it.

The car ride through the city of Dspo is tense. Katrina had often dreamed of leaving her small town for a more urban life. Under different circumstances, but even so there's a part of her that's thrilled about the arrangement. She stares out the passenger side window. The people walking on the sidewalk seem to have the right idea. They're certainly moving faster than the cars in standstill traffic are.

"You're certainly wearing a lot of makeup," Missy says. An attempt at breaking the ice? "Not that I have anything against it. Everyone has their own style, you know?" She forces a smile. Katrina can safely assume that Missy is looking at the choker Katrina is wearing now.

"It's not makeup." Katrina rolls up her black hoodie sleeve to reveal a pale arm. "I just stay out of the sun."

"Oh." A nervous laugh. Katrina doesn't seem to realize that Missy is talking about the thick eyeliner and eyeshadow that Katrina is wearing. "Well, we don't get much sun here up North. It rains almost every day, actually."

"Right." The bonding isn't lost on Katrina, but the air is much too tense for casual conversation.

Missy perks up. "Oh, do you still play with those cards? Your mother told me that you were going to a school for it." She chuckles again. "A school for a card game. What a world."

"I don't." Katrina returns to looking out the window.

Katrina life up to now hasn't been particularly hard, but doesn't everyone have problems? At 14 she was drafted from a local dueling event to attend a prestigious career school. A Duel Academy. A laughable idea to many. I mean, it's a school for card games. It doesn't matter that general educational courses were still provided or that the game itself was quite lucrative if one could make a career out of it. To most, it was still the wild project of eccentric elites with their heads in the clouds. It was certainly more logical than terraforming Mars, but "pro duelist" was one of those childhood dreams that cold reality often beat out of the lower classes before they settled into a career as a nurse, or a mechanic, or perhaps joined the military.

Katrina's parents weren't sure about it. Sending their child away for the school year seemed so… inhumane. Who would raise her? The teachers? Shouldn't they raise their own child? And what kind of job skills could you learn at a Duel Academy anyway? A basic high school education is one thing, but otherwise dueling is a jobless skill if you're not successful at it. Eventually these concerns were suppressed due to Katrina's own eagerness and the talent scouts stories of wealth, fame, and prestige that couldn't be offered by her rural life. She began attending the American Duel Academy at age fifteen and was to spend her sophomore through senior years of high school taking classes there. That was two years ago.

The public's conception, and her parents' concerns regarding the Duel Academy program weren't totally off the mark. Katrina did make friends and overall enjoyed her time there, but truly it was a project by the elites, for the elites. Faculty and students alike look down on applicants like her that got in through their own merit. She endured this treatment as much as she could, coping by maintaining something like rivalries with the students that accosted her for being low class. The looks on their faces when she would succeed were satisfying. She was like a hero from a manga, showing the haughty what one could achieve through sheer effort and a bit of talent.

Unfortunately, this is not a manga. It was childish to think that merit and skill alone are enough in this world. If manga heroes exist, they're but minority cases. It's a lesson that she still holds deep within herself as she recalls leaving Duel Academy in disgrace.

**Chapter 1 - The Scene and the Dying Breed**

Missy's apartment is small. The living room, dining room, and kitchen all share a single hardwood area. A small hallway leads to three doors. One of them, the bathroom door, is open. The other two are shut.

"I was using the spare room for storage but I managed to get a shed," Missy says, "It's the door on the right, if you want to get settled in before dinner."

"Thank you." Katrina carries her bag to the room.

Katrina's low expectations prove to have been overestimations. Save for a dresser and an old TV, there's no furniture. There's two mattresses laying on top of each other without a bed frame. A set of sheets and a blanket are folded on top of them, waiting for her to put them to use.

"I know it's not perfect." Missy's voice makes Katrina jump. Her pale skin flushes bright red. Missy tries to ignore it, for her niece's sake. "I would have at least made your bed myself, but I was running late."

"It's no problem." Katrina sets her bag down. "It's just some sheets and a comforter. I can handle it after I unpack."

Missy smiles. At least her niece isn't a brat. "Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes or less. My specialty pizza and wings."

Finally, Katrina smiles.

The rest of the night goes by without much of note. Missy and Katrina still find it hard to communicate. Missy embarrasses Katrina by trying to set her up with the pizza delivery boy but it doesn't linger throughout the evening. Time goes by fast, no longer frozen as it was in the car. After dishes, Katrina returns to her room. She finishes packing the last of her items away. As if the day's events weren't enough, the sound of thunder and heavy rain makes relaxation impossible. Katrina pulls the final item from her bag. A black deck box. She opens it. It's empty, save for one, red-framed card, _Salem Witch._

XxxxX

The next morning, Katrina is on the bus, heading to school. Not the yellow school busses she was Her status as a high school. So this is city life. The ride is uneventful and much less stressful the second time, almost boring. Katrina keeps checking the time on her phone, swearing that she's been on the ride for hours, not minutes.

When she finally arrives at her stop, she has to pull up a map on her phone to find the school.

Katrina approaches the school grounds with her face glued to her phone until something catches her attention. A voice.

"Don't cry when I take your card, okay?"

Katrina looks up and sees two other students, a girl and a boy. Katrina deduces that the voice has to belong to the girl. Katrina notices the girl's hair at first. White with pink streaks, tied into long and untamed twintails. Why would someone take the time to put their hair up like that if they weren't going to go all the way with stylizing it? And those worn out clothes— No. That's her time at Duel Academy talking. The impulse to judge others the same way that she was judged. She shakes such thoughts from her mind.

She moves her attention to the device on the girl's arm. It's a Duel Disk, a common household item for at least the past 20 years. They tried to make it sound like getting one at DA was a huge privilege but at this point there are so many makes and models that it doesn't really matter. The ones handed out at DA were official Kaiba Corporation models. They probably were better than the competition's models, but the girl's Duel Disk projects monsters well enough. In front of her stands the visage of a woman in bandit-like attire, dual wielding swords. Katrina recognizes this monster as _Cur Warmaiden_. It's fairly rare.

The girl pushes a button on her Duel Disk. A magenta card flips up on her field. A trap. "I activate Mojo Hand!"

Her opponent, a brawny looking young man, takes a step back. Fear in his eyes. "No way!"

The girl places one hand on her hip and points with the other. "That's the lesson!"

"Yet you never learn." The young teacher adjusts her thick glasses as the girl spins around. "Yui Mutsu. Still bringing paraphernalia to school, are we?"

"It ain't even school hours yet!" Yui stomps her foot.

"That game is banned here, the teacher says. Her lip curls. "And you know exactly why."

Katrina can't help but laugh at the girl's rebellious energy even as she's marched into the school.

XxxxX

Katrina introduces herself in each of her classes. In Duel Academy it was customary for a new student to stand at the head of the class and introduce themselves. Here, the teachers just call her out by name while she's at her desk. It's more embarrassing, in a way. The spontaneity of it. Not that she ever had to do an introduction at DA, but she imagines that it can't be worse than some teacher singling you out as soon as they remember you're there.

Fourth period, English Lit 2. Mr. Rosemary is at the head of the class, about to pop a movie in, when he suddenly remembers. "Oh, right. We have a new student. I hear she previously attended the American Duel Academy." Chatter fills the room. Great. "Calm down," Rosemary says, "Now miss… Joyce? Would you please introduce yourself?"

Katrina waves from her desk. "I'm Katrina. That's— That's pretty much it."

The class goes quiet as The Most Dangerous Game plays.

"You really go to Duel Academy?"

Katrina looks to her right. The girl from this morning is seated beside her. How did she not notice? "Yeah."

"That's so cool."

"I don't know about that."

"No, seriously." The girl holds out her hand. "Yui."

Due to the Duel Academy program, the Pacific Ocean had become a melting pot of sorts with students opting for one or the other. In the past twenty or so years since the program began, it's had a large impact on the demographics of various countries. Katrina slowly raises her hand to meet her classmates. "Kat-"

"Kat. I like it."

"No, it's—"

Mr. Rosemary makes a coughing sound, ending all quiet chatter. He knows that none of these kids are watching the movie, but every now and then he has to maintain order. Not just to remind the children who's boss, but also in case another teacher or, god forbid, the principal were to walk in.

A few seconds pass before it's safe to whisper again. "There's a shop near here I go to sometimes," Yui says. Yui hands Katrina a ripped piece of paper with an address on it. "Y'know. If you're interested."

"Uh huh…"

"I was gonna ask for your number but that seemed a little forward."

Katrina's pale skin turns blood red in an instant. "You—"

"So it was too forward then?" Yui fights off a fit of laughter.

XxxxX

The setting sun's glare makes it hard for Katrina to see her phone screen. She shields the glare with one hand, while also holding the paper, and tries to type in the directions with the other. "Stupid sun. I thought it was supposed to be rainy here."

"Need a hand?"

Katrina straightens up, as if she hadn't just been in the process of being bested by both nature and machine. "Are you following me?"

Yui smiles. "No way. Well, kinda. Maybe. Does it count as following if I'm following up on our conversation from earlier?" Yui stops to ponder. "Actually I guess the word 'following' is kinda right there…"

Katrina watches this girl undergo the dumbest philosophical struggle for as long as she can. "Why don't you just show me where this place is?"

"Right!" Yui snaps her fingers and then points at Katrina in one motion.

Yui leads Katrina to a shop tucked away in a back alley, _Remembering the Game_. It's empty, save for the single staff member. "Looks like we're the first ones here."

The store's clerk and manager is a man in his mid 30's who looks as though he's, well, like he's seen some stuff. A serious demeanor and and a poor shave job. Even his dreadlocks have this air of unspoken trauma to them. "Ah, Yui." He scratches his head and looks at Katrina. "I'm sorry, I don't recall—"

"That's cuz she's a first timer," Yui says. She walks up to the counter and leans in. "Get this. She used to go to Duel Academy." The man flinches at the mention of Duel Academy. Yui doesn't catch it.

Katrina does. "I really don't have fond memories of that place." She looks away.

The Shopkeep huffs. "Well, I won't pry if you won't," he says, "Name's Ray."

"Katrina."

Ray shifts his focus to Yui, "And you."

"Me?"

"I don't want gawkers in my shop so don't be telling people about a Duel Academy student being here."

Yui throws up her arms in a 'What are you talking about?' gesture. "It's like you don't even want good business!"

Ray mocks Yui's gesture. "Something like that, yeah."

"Whatever." Yui leaves the argument at that and gets back to what she came here to do. That being 'impress the new girl.' She takes Katrina's hand and leads her to a glass display that doubles as the shop's counter.

"H-hey!" Katrina stumbles forward as she tries to keep pace with Yui.

The new girl's protests go either unheard or ignored. "Check THESE out!" Yui gestures to a cabinet of rare cards. "Cool huh?"

Katrina yanks her hand away from Yui. "Those cards are pretty rare, but…" She scans the contents. Yata-Garasu, Sixth Sense, Black Luster Soldier, Fiber Jar. "None of them are legal for official play."

"Yeah but Black Luster Soldier," Yui says, "The normal monster version!"

"Well, yeah I guess that is pretty impressive— Really impressive, actually. What's something like that doing in a…" Katrina looks at Ray and decides not to finish her sentence.

Ray laughs. "Hey, I get it." He scratches his stubble. "I buy rare or obscure cards. It's kind of the reason I started the business."

"Guess who sold him the BLS," Yui says. The pride in her voice makes the answer fairly obvious. "Come on, guess!"

"You?" Katrina's guess is laced with sarcasm.

Sarcasm that Yui doesn't pick up on. "Bingo, baby!"

"How did you get your hands on something like that?"

Ray clears his throat, trying to interrupt the conversation.

Yui grins. "I won it off a guy."

Katrina raises an eyebrow. "You won it? Like in an ante?"

"Exactly."

"Isn't street betting illegal? And you're underage at that."

"The guy had it coming, trust me."

"Uh huh…"

Ray clears his throat again. "Miss Katrina, is there anything here that interests you?"

"Oh right!" Yui reaches into her backpack and pulls out her Duel Disk. "Mine's not that fancy but I bet you've got a really cool one, right? I wanna see!"

"I don't duel anymore." Katrina avoids eye contact. "In fact I left most of my cards at the academy."

"Whaaaaaat?!" Yui looks at the Duel Disk with newfound appreciation.

Katrina catches Ray's expression. It seems to be empathy, which means that she's let too much information slip out. "Look, I think I should go h—"

"Okay, let's go." Yui puts her belongings back in her bag and slings it over her shoulder. "But at least let me show you around a bit more first, huh?"

Katrina sighs. "Are you supposed to be on medication or something?"

"Nope!" Yui grabs Katrina's hand again and rushes her out the door, leaving Kurt alone in his dingy store.

XxxxX

Katrina has to admit that the City of Dspo looks quite different on foot. The active nature of walking and sightseeing makes it easier to notice the imperfections and decay of the old architecture than daydreaming through a car window does. Still, there's a charm to it. It's not like the buildings and infrastructure in her small town are any better. It made sense. Back home the buildings are owned by 'small businessmen' that care more about dominating things like the homeowners association or the school board than they do about providing for the community. And the town itself is so small and out of the way that government funding would pass it over without even noticing. Before now she thought it had to be different in the city. Beautiful skylines in the media painted a completely different picture. Even movies and the like that depicted places like New York City or Los Angeles as dirty and crime ridden still managed to keep a dark prestige to the setting. A newspaper blowing in the wind across a dark street while a shadowy figure walks through steam was one thing, but seeing it in person, seeing the cracks and the fading paint, this was reality. Nobody seemed to notice. Why would they? It'd be like noticing that the sky is blue.

Katrina's eyes focus on Yui, or at least her back as she walks confidently ahead. Her twin tails and open jacket sway in the rhythmically with each step. Yui was saying something, but Katrina hasn't been listening.

"Well, do you?" Yui looks back.

"Uhhh," Katrina says.

"Been spacing out this whole time, huh?"

"No!— Yeah… Maybe."

Yui laughs. Kat's face flushes. Yui laughs harder.

"I was asking if you want to see me in action," Yui says, "I have to settle things with someone."

Katrina recalls the duel that the teacher interrupted. "The boy from this morning?"

"Oh, you saw that?" Yui turns her head, looking forward again so that Katrina can't see her face. "Yeah, him."

"I don't want to be part of this," Katrina says, "No offense."

"Fair enough."

Yui shows Katrina around for a few hours. Regardless of her reservations about Yui, Katrina has to admit that she's having fun. Yui seems to know the city like the back of her hand, and while not the educated or eloquent type of person that Katrina had envisioned. The sheer variety of the local businesses threatened sensory overload, and these are just the locations that are within walking distance of the school. The neighborhoods all have their own flavors as well. The smaller stores in these neighborhoods have charms that can't be seen in the mall or business district. Every location dwarfed her small hometown and even the secluded island of Duel Academy. So this is how people live.

As the sun sets, Katrina decides that it's time for her to return home. Yui escorts her to the correct bus stop and they sit on the bench to await its arrival.

"Thank you," Katrina says.

"Huh?"

Katrina wriggles in her seat. "For showing me around. I appreciate it."

"Hey, the pleasure was all mine." Yui checks her phone. "We, uh, we can do it again tomorrow if you want. There's still a lot I can show you."

"I'd like that."

Yui grins. "Great. I have something to take care of after school but if you wanna—"

"I don't mind waiting at school or maybe at that card shop," Katrina says, "Oh and I'd have to ask my aunt."

"Works for me."

XxxxX

School the next day is a drag. Katrina awaits the end of the day. She walks into her literature class ready to discuss things with Yui. She's not there. Katrina shrugs it off. Probably just late, right? She takes her seat and waits for class to start. Mr. Rosemary takes role. Yui still isn't here. He begins his lecture. She's still not here. Katrina begins to wonder what could have happened to her. Maybe she got lost? Obviously not. Perhaps she's sick? Should have exchanged numbers. What if she was accosted by some thugs? She did seem to be involved in some shady stuff, after all. What if they beat her up and left her in an alley? What if they kidnapped her? What if—

"I can see those eyes starting to glaze over, Miss Joyce," Mr. Rosemary says.

"Oh. Sorry."

After some giggling from the rest of the class, the lecture resumes. It's about Edgar Alan Poe or something. Boring. Still, she doesn't want to get called out again so she pays attention until the bell rings.

At lunch, Katrina carries her tray to an unused table. This is where she ate yesterday as well. People probably already think she's a freak or something. It's not that she's opposed to making friends, but not everyone can be a social butterfly or live without reservations.

A tray slams down on the table across from her, breaking her introspection. "Ah!"

"Yo." It's Yui..

"You're here," Katrina says, "I thought you were, uh, sick or something."

"Just had some personal stuff to take care of."

"I see." Katrina's initial reservations about Yui begin to boil back up.

"If I didn't take care of it now, I wouldn't be able to Yui sits down. "So we still on for today?"

Hesitation. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Right on." After getting confirmation, Yui digs into her school approved lunch, stabbing at what the menu only described as 'Beef surprise.'

XxxxX

Katrina waits at _Remembering the Game_ in silence. Mostly. Ray speaks to her every few minutes in an attempt to cut the tension between tending to a small total of patrons.

"How did you meet Yui?"

"School."

"Do you like it in the city?"

"I do."

"So, Duel Academy, huh?"

"Yeah…"

Thankfully this only lasts for about thirty minutes before Yui comes rushing through the front door. "Kat! Kat! I need a huge favor!"

Kat flinches. "Wh-wha—"

"That guy I was dueling yesterday, you remember?"

"Sure…" Kat gives Yui a look to let her know that she doesn't like where this conversation is going.

Futile. "Okay so he refused to accept that I had whooped him and declared the game a no contest."

"Okaaay."

"But he agreed to a rematch, but there's a catch."

Katrina frowns.

Yui continues. "There's a guy with him who says he knows about a card I've been after. He wants a tag duel."

"So get a friend or something to duel with you."

Yui twists her hair with one finger. "Well, about that…"

"Because you play for ante?"

Yui throws her hands up in self-defense. "Not against them! They were just babies about it!"

"I told you I don't want any part of this."

"Come on!" Yui claps her hands together and holds them in a pleading gesture. "I wouldn't ask unless this were the only way! Consider it a one time payment for being your personal tour guide."

"I don't…" Katrina trails off until she can think up an excuse. "I don't even have a deck. Or a Duel Disk."

Yui reaches into her backpack and digs through it. She pulls out what must be tens of dollars. "Here. Just buy some cards from the bargain bin." She points at a box of assorted common cards being sold for less than a dollar each.

"I still can't buy a Duel Disk with this."

Yui turns to Ray. "You can cut me a deal, right? I mean, we finally got a lead on, y'know, that card."

Ray grits his teeth. "You talk way too much, you know that?"

"Come onnnnn!"

Ray sighs. "I mean, sure, I can do that but I don't think you should be coercing your new friend into…"

"There you go," Yui says to Katrina, "So whattaya say?"

"I think I can find another tour guide." An obvious bluff, but when did this girl pick up on stuff like that?

"I mean, I'll still show you around and stuff." Yui crosses her arms and looks away, "But this is just a nice thing you can do for your new friend."

"And you think we'll win even if I make a jank deck?"

"I don't think you'll be able to find all of the pieces for a Junk deck, but trust me it'll be easy."

"Just this once?"

Yui takes that as a 'yes' and spins around to face Ray. "I just need one more thing."

Yui and Katrina arrive at another store, _Garvey Cards and Games_. One that's much nicer and more densely populated than _Remembering the Game_. When they step in, things go silent, as if Yui were a stereotypical villain from some old Western. Katrina looks around. There are too many people, and too much space to find the boy she had only seen for a few seconds over a day ago. Yui probably knows where he is.

"Yo, where's Levi!"

Or not.

The clerk at the counter speaks up, "Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to keep your voice down or leave."

"I was invited," Yui says.

"Invited by who?"

A young man steps forward. "It's alright." He's familiar to Katrina, but he's definitely not Yui's target. "I invited her."

Yui sizes the boy up. "Wow, so Levi got you of all people to be his ringer?"

"I'm surprised you showed. Levi assured me you wouldn't find any—" The young man notices Katrina standing behind Yui. "No hecking way." He walks forward, ignoring Yui and toward Katrina. "I didn't know you lived around here, Kitty."

Katrina clenches her teeth. "It's a new development."

"I'll say!"

"You two know each other," Yui says.

Katrina doesn't answer, so the boy takes it upon himself. "We— were in Duel Academy together."

Elijah Moore was a student at Duel Academy, and in the same grade as Katrina. He was friends with another student that crossed Katrina's path quite often. Katrina and Elijah barely spoke to each other, but to say that their mutual connection was just another of Katrina's so called rivals would be an understatement. Despite this, Elijah himself doesn't seem to harbor much ill-will, apart from considering himself in a class above Katrina. But that's just natural, right?

Elijah is the son of an executive in the Garvey Group, which has a major stake in the world of dueling through investments in Kaiba Corp. This put him on a fast track to Duel Academy where he would receive training to better understand the empire he was going to join once he finished his business courses at some prestigious college. He didn't have much natural talent for dueling but after investing in the proper decks and doing enough research, he was able to hold his own and remain in the top fifty percent of DA's global duelist boards. He was never a match for Katrina, under normal circumstances. But these are not normal circumstances.

XxxxX

Yui and Katrina follow Elijah through the shop and out the back door where Levi awaits in a fenced area. It's just large enough for four people to duel in, allowing two duels with Duel Disks to take place at a time. Or, in this case, one tag duel.

Elijah takes his place on the duel field. "Have you been keeping up with the rules, Kitty."

"Her name's Kat," Yui says.

Katrina exhales as she filters out all of the words she wants to say. "Not since last semester."

"Right," says Elijah, "Well Tag Duels are a little different but I'm sure you'll pick up on it."

Levi holds his Duel Disk up. "How about we go over the stakes?"

Yui smiles. "I thought you'd never ask." Yui reaches into her deck case and retrieves two cards. Since her deck is already in her Duel Disk, it's safe to say that they're not a part of her deck. "We'll bet Meteor Black Comet Dragon and Black Luster Soldier, the normal monster version. In addition to your partner's Annihilator Archfiend, what are you putting up?"

Elijah laughs. "So you really do have it." He looks at Yui, but it's obvious that he really wants Katrina to hear him. Psychological warfare? "I guess that explains your reputation."

"Stake your bet already," says Yui.

Elijah holds up a purple card. "Dragon Master Knight."

"And you'll tell me what I want to know, right?" Yui holds her deck up for one of her opponents to shuffle. Katrina nervously does the same.

"Absolutely." Elijah says as he takes Yui's deck.

When the shuffling is finished, each duelist takes their cards and returns to their positions on the duel field.

"Duel!"

**Yui/Katrina: (LP:8000)**

**vs.**

**Elijah/Levi: (LP:8000)**

Yui's Duel Disk lights up. She's the first to go. Yui looks at her cards and groans. "Why did I have to go first?"

Elijah smiles. "What was that? Are you folding already?"

"I don't fold!" Yui shakes off her frustration and grabs a card. As she places it onto her Duel Disk, a virtual wind picks up. A formless light appears and begins to take the shape of a slender female. The colors and details become more clear a moment later. An elf woman with a cyberpunk visor hovers in front of Yui. A yellow aura surrounds it. "I summon Hacker Elf!" (ATK: 1500)

Katrina looks at the monster, unimpressed. "Please tell me that's not it."

"Uh, well…" Yui looks at the remaining cards in her hand. "I really need to be able to attack to get the ball rolling…" Yui avoids eye contact. "I end my turn."

"And here I was worried." Elijah crosses his arms, taking care to not reveal his own cards. "And you say you lost to this girl?"

Levi, trying to ignore his partner, starts his turn. "Draw!"

"What a waste of time," says Elijah.

There it is. The Duel Academy elitism Katrina had come to know. Her experience tells her that Levi will overcompensate, not wanting to be shown up.

Levi places a card inside of a slot on the back of the Duel Disk's fin. "I activate Unexpected Dai." The light that indicates a monster summon appears on Levi's field now, creating a dark skinned warrior in green armor. It rests both hands on an ornate sword with a hilt that resembles some kind of dragon or demon. "I summon Warrior of Zera!" (ATK: 1600)

Elijah pinches the bridge of his nose. "Aye aye aye."

Katrina

The far side of Levi's Duel Disk opens up, allowing him to place a card in it before it closes again. "Field spell card, Pandemonium!"

Holographic light covers the fenced area. Lighting strikes the center of the area, creating a blinding flash. When their senses return, the four duelists see that the makeshift arena has become a sort of hellscape with decrepit green architecture standing out against a blood red sky.

Elijah looks up at the scenery. It's hard to tell if he's amused or disappointed. "An Archfiend deck?"

"No." Katrina's eyes narrow as she watches her opponent reach for his next card. "Not an Archfiend deck"

As Levi places a card on the far right side of his Duel Disk, his warrior grabs its head in anguish. "Under the effects of Pandemonium's influence, Zera gains a great and terrible power!" The warrior's teeth become sharp fangs that force his mouth into a devilish grin, his hand becomes massive claws that are unable to grip its sword, and a pair of large wings burst from his back and destroy his armor. "I summon Mazera DeVille!" (ATK: 2800)

Yui steps back as the demon looms over her. "Hey, let's talk about this."

Levi points diagonally across the field at Yui. "Mazera DeVille forces you to discard three card from your hand!"

Yui plants her feet on the ground as the former warrior touches three of her cards with its monstrous claws. "To… The… Grave…" says the demon.

Yui grabs the designated card and places them into a slot in the middle of the Disk. "Yeah, yeah." She looks at the remaining card in her hand and pouts. _Pot of Avarice_

"I can't believe you," Elijah says, "You're lucky I'm here to help you out."

Levi can no longer hold his cool. "What are you talking about? Just get off my back!"

Katrina holds up her hand. Five cards. "Since my turn is next, you should have targeted me."

"Yeah, well how about this!" Levi places another card in the back of his Duel Disk, the Spell/Trap zone. "Advanced Ritual Art!"

A pillar of blue light touches down in the center of Pandemonium. It remains there while Levi searches his deck for the proper cards. Katrina looks at her own hand, contemplating her upcoming turn. Levi's doing more damage to his own hand than he has to Yui's. Still, Yui's hand has been reduced to a single card. Elijah is a known rare card enthusiast and has gotten his hands on some truly remarkable cards. She knows that her turn will be the most important one in the duel now. If Elijah is allowed to keep the momentum then it'll be over.

Katrina looks up as the blue light fades. The discarded sword of Zera rises up. The demonic dragon on its hilt begins to grow. First in size, and then in detail. It gains arms and legs. Even a cape. (ATK: 2800)

"Zera the Mant!" Levi's Disk opens again and he removes the Pandemonium card. "I'll finish with this! Yami!"

"You can't be serious," says Elijah.

Yui seems embarrassed to even be involved. "Yeah, even for you that's kinda…"

"Shut up!" The field red sky becomes black and the demonic structures fumble.

"Yui frowns. "Wow. Touchy!"

"In the darkness my monsters gain power!" Mazera (ATK: 3000) and Zera (ATK: 3000)fade into the blackness, leaving themselves only partially visible.

"Draw!" Katrina grabs two cards and places them in her Spell/Trap slots. "I set two cards and end my turn." Two card backs are projected onto the ground in front of Katrina.

"Finally." Elijah draws a card. He looks at his hand and sighs. "I'd like to end things right away, but—" He looks at Katrina. "The last time we dueled was in a tag, right?"

Katrina bites her lip. "Yeah…"

"I don't mean to dig up old wounds," Elijah says, "but I know full well that the opponent's battle phase is where you shine."

Katrina swallows as she waits for this moment to end. She knows he's messing with her, but she can't stop it from working. Bringing up that duel, that event, that moment that sealed her fate—

"But you know, maybe I'll tell your new friend about it should I win," Elijah says. He touches his face with his finger, mimicking deep thought. "A little punishment for not learning your place the first time."

Katrina's breathing picks up. Her world dissolves into darkness, blacker than even the hologram's interpretation of the concept. As her physical vision fades, her mind drifts to the past. The Duel Academy. A large arena. She stands with two other students. They all have their sleek KC Duel Disks ready. Across from them stands a single boy, challenging them all at once. An abominable monster with many eyes floats in front of him. Then a flash forward. Another memory. Katrina stands at a pier with only her bags for company as she waits for a ship. Blackness again. Despair, dread, regret… The game was rigged from the start.

"Get on with it!"

Yui's voice snaps Katrina back to the present.

Elijah's smile finally breaks. "Careful what you wish for, Raggedy Anne."

"Go ahead and show me."

Katrina regains her normal posture. She looks at Yui. Yui is looking back at her, smiling. Her face says something like 'I've got your back.' Katrina returns her focus to the duel. People don't notice those kinds of things. It's just her imagination. And yet…

"Thanks," Katrina whispers.

"Huh?"

Elijah touches an empty monster zone on the far left side of his Duel Disk. "Now, Kitty, you may not know this yet since the new rules are recent." He regains his condescending smugness and looks at Yui. "And I'm sure you need this too, so I'll explain very briefly. The two far most columns between players are connected."

Katrina looks at Mazera as it emerges from the shadows. "Meaning you have control of your partner's monsters. Both of them."

"Smart girl." Elijah taps his phantom card. "Since your partner didn't summon a monster to a shared zone, Mazera can attack you directly!"

The demon leaps into the air. The winds from its wings cause Zera's cape and Hacker Elf's skirt to flutter. It comes down at Katrina claws first.

"I activate my trap card!" One of Katrina's projected cards reveals its face. A magenta border. The fire in her voice vanishes as she says the name, "Th— Thirst Trap House."

Elijah raises an eyebrow. "Oh? A new deck?"

"When you attack me directly I can summon three copies of Vishwar Randi from my deck." Katrina brandishes the three cards, all depicting a seductress with six arms in a skin-tight blue singlet. They appear on Katrina's field. The noises they make turn her pale face red. (DEF: 700)

"Very well," says Elijah, "Since you summoned a new monster in the middle of my attack, I am allowed to redeclare my attack target. I'll attack the Vishwar Randi in the shared monster zone."

"Quick-play spell card—" Katrina's face contorts as she reaches to activate her card. "Midnight Climax." She catches a glimpse of Yui with a bemused expression. "Something funny?"

"No, no. Continue," says Yui, waving her hand.

Katrina harrumphs and pulls out three new cards, depicting a color swap of Vishwar Randi. "Midnight Climax lets me replace my three Vishwar Randi with Succubus Knights!" (DEF: 1300)

"Then I'll replay my attack again," Elijah says.

"Not yet," says Katrina, "The effect isn't over. I can replace a number of your monsters with monsters from my own Extra Deck, up to the amount of Succubus Knights summoned." A compartment opposite the field spell zone opens on Katrina's Disk, containing the 15 card Exta Deck.

"You're kidding," Levi says, "Those random old cards have support like that?"

The suggestive sounds from the succubi grow louder. Even the warrior-turned-demon seems embarrassed now. He and his draconic companion hide their faces and slink back into the darkness. Katrina tosses two cards to Levi. "I summon these to your field." A fiery corpse (ATK: 1000) and a canine beast with flower petals for a mane come out of the shadows in their place, entranced by the women. "Flame Ghost and Flower Wolf."

Elijah's eyes widen. "You've really done it now."

"Don't tell me you're a sore loser," says Yui.

Katrina tries to keep her voice down. "The chances are likely."

"You don't get it." Elijah runs his hand through his hair. "That's okay. You will soon." He points at Yui's elf monster again. "Flower Wolf, attack." The creature tears into Yui's elf until the natural censorship of the hologram shattering cuts the scene short. (Yui and Katrina: 7700).

Yui crosses her arms. "Yeah, you sure showed us."

"Wait, Yui," Katrina says, "I… I might have messed up."

"So you do remember my card," says Elijah, "Yet you still gave me those fusions."

"Midnight Climax summons the monsters to the same zone as the monsters that it banishes. I had no choice."

Elijah flashes his teeth. "That's right." He places another card in his Spell/Trap zone. "In my second Main Phase, I activate Instant Fusion." (Levi and Elijah: 7000)

"That's it?" Yui frowns.

A grotesque creature with multiple eyes writhes on Elijah's field. "Thousand-Eyes Restrict." (ATK: 0)

"Woah…" Yui rubs her eyes. "You got your hands on one of those?!"

"Of course." Elijah raises his hand. "Thousand Eyes Restrict effect. It'll absorb the Succubus Knight in your shared monster zone and take its stats." The creature begins to suck in air through its circular mouth. The vacuum force pulls the seductress into it until it eats her whole.

"Gross," Yui says.

Katrina bites her lip. "That's not the card I'm worried about."

The succubus reappears as a protrusion of Thousand-Eyes Restrict, restrained by its flesh. "Now your life points are open."

"But your battle phase is over."

"Not quite." Elijah places another card in his Duel Disk. "I activate the spell, Mastery of Time and Space!" The three monsters on Elijah's field vanish. "The cost is three fusion monsters. Once I've done that, I can restart my turn from my Standby Phase onward!"

Yui throws her hands up. "I'm sorry, what?!"

"I can't take any turn actions that are once per turn if I've already done them," says Elijah, "but of course I haven't Normal Summoned yet." A depiction of Frankenstein's Monster is summoned to Elijah's field. "Go, Cyber-Stein." (ATK: 700)

"Here it comes," says Katrina.

(Elijah and Levi: 2000) "By paying the cost, I can summon one fusion monster from the Extra Deck without fusion summoning it!" Elijah glides his hand over his Duel Disk, letting the purple card fall into place. "Come, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" A monster that dwarfs all others emerges from the ground. A giant white dragon with three heads. It stands virtually invincible to the succubi on Katrina's field. (ATK: 4500)

Levi stands in awe at his partner. "Ha! I'm saved! I'm saved!"

Levi smiles as he takes in Levi's praise. "Well, it's the least I could do for a patron."

Katrina looks at the remaining cards in her hand. She's done all she can. "Do you have Megamorph?"

"Sadly no," says Elijah, "But I do have this." He places a field card in his Duel Disk, cutting through the darkness created by Yami and replacing it with a stone castle and a purple sky. "Fusion Dimension. While this card is on the field, non-effect Fusion Monsters are unaffected by card effects." Elijah looks at the last card in his hand. Satisfaction. "Let's get to it. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Cyber-Stein will attack Yui directly!"

The Frankenstein fires its arm cannon. Yui braces herself and the blast only pushes her back, but it's only a taste of what's coming. "Bring it!" (Yui and Katrina: 7000)

"Ultimate Burst!" Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon fires a burst of white lightning from each mouth. The coalesce to great a single, concentrated attack that looks like it should take out the entire city block.

The blast connects. The last thing Katrina sees her vision is completely enveloped in the ultimate burst stream of destruction is Yui leaving the ground. (Yui and Katrina: 2500)

The light fades. Yui is laying flat on her back. "That really hurt, you know."

Kat rushes over to her partner. "Are you alright?" She stops when she sees Yui laughing. The world of Duel Academy pits students against each other with rankings. The idea that someone could take a hit like this and laugh it off.

Yui sits up. "Never been better."

Kat spots the card in Yui's hand. _Pot of Avarice_. "Um…"

Yui shouts across the field, "You finished yet, or what?"

Elijah takes the _Mirror Force_ in his hands and places it in his Duel Disk. "After I set this."

Katrina helps Yui to her feet. In the past two days, this is the first time the two of them have stood so close. Yui was taller than her, but right now she appears to Kat as a giant. Larger than life, like a hero from a manga. Yui reaches for her deck. In situations like this, the deck represents the future to a duelist. When you reach for it, there are two options. You can hold your hand over your deck in surrender, accepting your fate. The other option? You can pull the next card, betting it all on that moment. Kat steps back, out of arm's reach. It's obvious what choice Yui will make.

Yui draws, extending her arm with her new card. The wind from this action hits Kat's hair. Yui brings the card to eye level. A grin.

Elijah stands comfortably across the field. "I hope you realize that Ultimate Dragon is in the shared monster zone. Even if you try to hide with defensive monsters, clearing a path to your life points will be simple for us now."

"You're not getting a next turn," Yui says, "I activate Monster Reborn!" A blue ankh hovers above Yui.

"The monsters removed by Midnight Climax are banished," says Kat, "so you can't summon them with Monster Reborn."

Yui turns to Kat. "It wouldn't be enough anyway." She holds out her hand. "If we're going to win, I'll need to borrow your Vishwar Randi."

"What?"

Yui says, "You saw me dueling the other morning, right?"

Kat thinks for a moment and then hits her. "Right!" She holds up her Duel Disk and the graveyard slot ejects her cards. She selects a Vishwar Randi from among them and hands it to Yui. "Go get 'em."

"You got it." Yui places the card on her shared monster zone. The smaller seductress appears on the field again. (ATK: 900)

Levi's eyes widen. "Hey, we might be…"

Elijah brushes him off.

"These twin swords do your talking for you." Yui's Extra Deck slot opens. Four orbs of light float around the six-armed woman. Her curiosity takes over and she reaches out to touch them. As if being commanded by an invisible voice, she lifts the orbs to her face where they create a mask of light. Three more orbs flare up within her own body, bringing the total to seven. "Tell 'em all, Trailblazer!"

"Crap! I knew it!" Levi grabs his head as he realizes he's about to lose again, and this time there aren't any teachers around to save him.

Yui holds a red-framed card out for her opponents to see. A tease. Before they can get a good look at it, she places it on top of the Vishwar Randi card on her Duel Disk. "Persona Summon, Cur Warmaiden!" Vishwar Randi takes the guise of the horde warrior that dual-wields blades. She claps her swords together. In the moment that she separates them, arc of fire can be seen in the space between. (ATK: 2500) Yui holds her hand up and clenches it into a fist. The warmaiden claps her blades together again. This time the metal catches fire. "On the turn Cur Warmaiden is summoned, she gains attack equal to that of the material used to summon her." (ATK: 3400)

Elijah looks at the puny Cyber-Stein left in attack position. "So that's it." He shifts his gaze to the face-down card projected on his field. Mirror Force. "A persona summon takes the turn's normal summon."

"Save your breath," says Yui, "We're moving to the Battle Phase!"

"Let's."

"Attack!" The marauding warrior dashes forward. The Frankenstein cowers at the sight of her flaming weapons.

Elijah's hand moves swiftly. "Did you really think I'd let an attack thr—?" But the card doesn't activate.

"No, not really," says Yui.

"You seem confused, so I'll explain," says Katrina, "Persona Monsters are summoned by being placed over a monster that's already on the field. To determine what monsters can be used for this, some of their levels are left blank, or open."

Elijah clenches his fist. "I already know that."

"Then you should know that if you manage to fill, or 'close' all of those levels then a second effect is unlocked."

Yui steps over to Kat. "When Cur Warmaiden's full potential is realized, you can't activate cards in the Battle Phase."

"No…"

The warrior slices through the enemy monster, cleaving it into three flaming pieces. They fly off in separate directions. The top section Cyber-Stein bounces off of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's shins before the hologram breaks. (Elijah and Levi: 0)

**Winner: Yui/Katrina**

The remaining holograms fade. Elijah drops to his knees. "How…"

Yui is already standing over him. "Guess you'll have to reflect on that or something." She holds out her hand. "Cards, please. If you're thinking about stiffing me I'll just go tell everyone about your taste for ante duels, and of course how you lost to me in one."

Elijah grumbles and hands over the copy of Dragon Master Knight. "You know, I didn't get it until now."

Yui takes his card. "Didn't get it? What are you— You're supposed to be telling me about the card I'm after."

"Duel Academy is going to be taking a field trip here in a couple of months. I didn't get it." He looks at Kat. "Until now, that is. He must really hate you."

Katrina keeps her head down. "He should get a life."

Elijah picks himself up and faces Yui again. "When Duel Academy visits, that's when the card you're after will show up in this town."

"Sparrow of the Summer Star." Yui's eyes flash. A hunter's instinct.

"If there were really a rare card like that at DA then I'd have known about it," Katrina says.

"It doesn't belong to a student," says Elijah, "They want their hometown to look good for other DA benefactors, you know?"

Kat frowns. "Just how are we— Is she supposed to get a meeting with a member of the Garvey Group?" Katrina turns to Yui to get her to weigh in on the matter but Yui is silent. The gears are turning in her mind. She has an idea. This is bad. Yui grins to herself and it sinks in for Kat. Life in the city is going to be complicated

**Author's Note:**

> Original Cards and Gameplay Rules
> 
> Katrina's Cards
> 
> Thirst Trap House  
> [Trap Card]  
> When your opponent declares a direct attack: Special Summon 3 "Vishwar Randi" from your Deck or GY.
> 
> Midnight Climax  
> [Quick-Play Spell Card]  
> Tribute any number of "Vishwar Randi" you control; Special Summon the same number of "Succubus Knight" from your Hand or Deck, then target Monsters on your opponent's side of the field up to the number of "Succubus Knight" you Summoned this turn; Banish those cards face-down and then Special Summon an equal amount of monsters with Levels from your Extra Deck to your opponent's side of the field.
> 
> Yui's cards
> 
> Cur Warmaiden | (FIRE)  
> ✩✩✩★★★★  
> [Warrior/Persona/Effect]  
> 1 Warrior monster OR 1 Monster that battled this turn  
> When this monster is Persona Summoned, it gains ATK equal to the ATK of the material monster's ATK on the field for this turn only. If this monster's level is 7 or higher, your opponent cannot activate the the effects of cards during the Battle Phase, except cards that are already face-up on the field.  
> ATK/2500 DEF/2200
> 
> Hacker Elf | (LIGHT)  
> ★★★  
> [Cyberse/Effect]  
> When this monster is summoned, if 1 or more of your monsters inflicted battle damage this turn: equip 1 face-up card your opponent controls to this card as an Equip Spell card.  
> ATK/1500 DEF/500
> 
> Elijah's cards
> 
> Mastery of Time and Space  
> [Spell Card]  
> Tribute 3 Fusion Monsters; Start your turn over at Main Phase 1. If you have already Normal Summoned before activating this card, you may not do so again this turn.
> 
> Brief rundown on Persona Summon/Monsters
> 
> Persona monsters are summoned from the Extra Deck. (Persona Summon)  
> You select a single monster to be used as a material.  
> Their summon count as a Normal Summon.  
> The material monster becomes attached to the Persona Monster. The Persona Monster gains levels equal to the material used.  
> The empty level stars (Open Levels) are filled by the material. You cannot use a material monster with a higher level than the Open Levels.  
> If a card or cards is equipped or attached to the Material Monster then they are applied to the summoned Persona Monster as well. (If a Persona monster with Material is used to summon another Persona monster, the newly summoned Persona monster gains levels of the Persona Monster on the field)  
> Persona Summoned monsters are placed in the same zone that their material occupied. 
> 
> Tag Duel Rules
> 
> (These are guidelines from the perspective of you and your team. The same rules apply to your opponent's team as well. Players are referred to as Player A as the left player an Player B as the right player.)  
> Both players share 8000 LP.  
> Both players have fields like the would in a normal duel.  
> >Exception: The 2 right (For player A) and left (for player B) most monster and S/T zones are considered "Shared" so if your opponent places a card there, it is considered occupied, but you also control that card.  
> >>A Spell Speed 2 or higher card in the a shared zone can be used by either player on a team at any time, as long as that card can be activated or used.  
> >>> A direct attack cannot be declared on either player of the same team while a monster card is in the shared monster zone.  
> You may only have one Field Spell between Player A and B.  
> Player A and B can use each other's GY as if it were their own.


End file.
